2 scary (and 1 not-so-scary) book picks from the Let's Make a Horror podcast hosts
CBC Books | Posted: October 31, 2023 12:54 PM | Last Updated: October 31, 2023
The CBC Podcast series Let’s Make a Horror’s third season launched on Oct. 11.
From the team of the award-winning podcast Let's Make A Sci-Fi and Let's Make A Rom-Com, a third, spooky season takes to the airwaves: Let's Make a Horror.
Hosted by comedians Mark Chavez, Maddy Kelly and Ryan Beil, the 10-episode podcast series includes interviews with Hollywood writers, directors and enthusiasts as the trio try their hand at writing and directing their own scary short film.
In honour of their new season, the hosts shared their horror (and not-so-horrific) book recommendations with CBC Books.
LISTEN | Let's Make a Horror: Horror 101 (feat. Eduardo Sánchez):
Pet Sematary by Stephen King
Mark Chavez: I love this book. The first time I read Pet Sematary, I devoured it over a couple of cold winter nights in the late 1990s. I remember finishing it at about three in the morning — and then speed walking and then running down the long dark hallway to my bedroom where I couldn't sleep for the rest of the night.
The second time I read Pet Sematary hasn't happened yet, and probably won't for a while because I'm still catching my breath from running down the long dark hall to my bedroom. It's a terribly bleak story about a man who suffers an incredible loss and tries to undo it, against the screaming protests of the reader, by tapping into the dark powers of a burial ground.
Does it end badly? Read it and find out. But yes.
Dracula by Bram Stoker
Ryan Beil: I pretty much only read murder mysteries, most of them of the "cozy" variety. And while those kinds of books all deal in death and violence in some way, they are usually only scary for a few chapters, if ever. I read Dracula when I was in elementary school (brag) and it has always stuck with me.
It is a masterclass in suspense and a weird window into Victorian-era anxieties and philosophies. Plus, if you're into and interested in vampires, this is the blueprint for every step those monsters have taken in popular culture.
LISTEN | Let's Make A Sci-Fi host Ryan Beil takes us into the creative process of writing a killer sci-fi pilot:
Bridget Jones Series by Helen Fielding
Maddy Kelly: I'm not a horror lover but if you're looking for something lighter, I highly suggest the Bridget Jones diary series. That British gal gets up to some serious adventures!